yesssssssss!

WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!i WISH i would've video taped all the screaming that took place at our house tonight after ryan seacrest announced our idol season 8 fave's name - KRIS ALLEN! i really had HOPED that kris would win, i really think he's fantastic, but sort of expected seacrest to say adam's name instead. there has just be so much hype surrounding him, i knew kris was sort of the underdog. so, i was definitely among the screamers at my house tonight, and after kris sang his song, we followed tradition and promptly headed to dairy queen for some celebrating! we met lauri's family there too since lauri is an even bigger kris fan than me, (she loves him like i love cookie), we decided they should be in on the tradition.

and while i have really missed seeing my cookie on the show this year, (i'm not sure i'll ever love another idol like i love my cookie),

it was still a fun season with lots of really good contestants to cheer for. the whole night, ethan kept saying, "i'm just so surprised!"

ya, me too buddy, surprised, but THRILLED!

thumbs up kris allen!

congratulations on your awesome win.

you totally deserve it!

you can thank me for my 350 votes last night with a personal serenade.

call me.

thankful

i know it's easter, not thanksgiving, but today i just feel so thankful.

thankful to be the sunbeam teacher and that it was my week to teach the lesson. it was wonderful to teach these sweet little guys about the resurrection in such simple terms and to feel the spirit that was there.

thankful for the sun that came out long enough to give us one beautiful day.

thankful for a little boy in bright spring colors, oh that little tie just melts my heart

thankful for older boys who wear a sweater vest once a year just to make me happy.

thankful for a daughter happy to wear last year's easter dress.

thankful for a family willing to take photos with (almost) no complaining.

thankful for millions of cousins on both sides and for family get togethers.

thankful for really good food including cute bunny cupcakes made by my mom and yummy marshmallow eggs homemade by lauren (april's sister who we love).

thankful for the look of excitement on all the little kids faces as the egg hunt began.

thankful to find a dress this year for ME - first time in a long time - and feel kind of cute.

thankful to finally get out of my too-high heels, my feet may never be the same.

but most of all, i'm thankful for my Savior who did this, so that i could have this. HAPPY HAPPY EASTER!

tuesday night goodness

tuesdays are one of my favorite days of the week.

can you guess why?

american idol night baby!

this is a BIG deal at my house. the kids and i all love to follow this show, we really get into it. probably a little too much. we can never wait until the tivo has recorded it, we always have to watch it live, because we are addicts and can't wait for our fix.

maybe because there's always some really great ones that we love to cheer for, and there's always someone good to really hate that loves to stick around.

and simon almost always says what i'm thinking.

last year was my favorite season so far, because i LOVE cookie baby. he's my favorite idol winner so far, pure awesomeness.

this year, we are cheering for matt, danny, chris, allison and anoop.

and we definitely don't like adam, he can sing, but he is definitely not the whole AI package. that whole "ring of fire" week made me squirm, gross man. and when he hits those high note/scream things with his tongue hanging out, yuck-o. he should stick to the stage. and since we are seasoned idol watchers now, i think i'm definitely qualified to offer that as my professional opinion. and how did matt end up in the bottom two last week? it's definitely time to start voting.

we LOVE american idol!

are you an AI addict too?

who is your favorite idol?

who are you loving this year?

who do you love to hate?

avoidance is pretty much my number one coping mechanism

this is the time of year when the photos start accumulating, i can't help it, it's just so beautiful and so i just keep shooting. and we have so many traditions associated with autumn, trips to the pumpkin patch, gardner village, and always a photo shoot or two in the beautiful leaves to name a few. i have oodles of good stuff to post, lots of fun happenings. but this week is a little too insane to try and spend a bunch of time editing photos and telling all their stories. and some weeks i just don't feel the blogger spirit, i'm sure it's just feeling overwhelmed and so i'm avoiding it all completely. that's pretty much my number one coping mechanism. so for now, i'm posting one of one hundred fall photos i have in my ever growing "latest from camera" folder. and i'm posting it straight out of the camera - meaning no photoshop touching at all (gasp!). oh man, what a cutie.

simple math

what do you get when you add: kristy's suburban

+ lots of little people

+ a long drive

+ a gripping match of catch phrase jr to pass the time+ iceberg onion rings with a whole lot of fry sauce (wow)+ lots and lots of blankets & hoodies+ happy smiling kiddos?all of this can only add up to one thing = ryan shupe and the rubberband!we had a few more kiddletts with us this year (hence kristy's suburban), and it was a little colder than usual, but the atmosphere was still gorgeous, the music was still great, the band was still so much fun to see live, and the most important factor for fun at an outdoor venue....fresh kettle corn....mmmmmm. plus is was warm so we fought over who got to hug it like this. good times were had by all. this concert is definitely one of the highlights of the year for me, i look forward to it every september and RSRB never disappoint! hailey was teasing me because every time a song started i would say, "oh i love this song!". she's right though, i do love them all!

moms and kids hit the road

we try every summer, at least once, to make a day trip to bear lake with the kids. i have guilt about my kids not being raised anywhere near the ocean and visits to bear lake seem to lessen that guilt. it's definitely the next best thing, sandy beaches, gorgeous water, sand castles, everything i love about the beach. unfortunately we have not been to bear lake for two years now, i think with the addition of ethan it became a little harder to make the trip, so everyone was excited that april and i finally resolved to do it this year no matter what.one of my favorite things about going is the drive. for about twenty five minutes or so it's nothing but winding rodes through the cache national forrest, nothing but trees and cliffs as far as you can see. it's such beautiful scenery but you feel like you must be far away from anything resembling a beach.then just when you think the road could go on forever, you round the corner and....BLAM there's the stunning blue color of the lake, it's surprises me every time and i LOVE it. once you get there you know it's just a short drive down the mountain and you're there. i love the small-town feel of garden city, all the stores and restaurants, even the grocery store all feel "local" and sort of old fashioned.

after the long drive everyone is anxious to do one thing...jump in the cool water and we all agree that it was worth the drive, everything was perfect.

as usual, this was a moms and kids trip, april and i have done it several times sans husbands. we always have a great time gabbing on the trip there and back. and even though she doesn't really love the sand getting into everything (she's a funny girl), she always agrees to come and makes the trip a lot more fun than going it alone. i'm so lucky!after everyone has a chance to play and splash and cool off for a bit, they always settle into their routine of digging, sculpting and shaping the perfect sandcastle. everyone has a specific area that they're supposed to work on and it's all supervised by, you guessed it, allie the boss.

the moms love the castle digging time because we usually get a few minutes to sit and relax. is there anything better than having your toes in the sand? it's one of my favorite feelings.

it's not however, one of ethan's favorite feelings. he ended spending a lot of time on the blanket jumping from towel to towel to avoid the uneveness of the sand, he was the same in winter with the snow. i did manage to talk him into standing (only with sandals on) in the shallow water on the beach, he loved to let the small waves crash on his legs and feet.after a long day of hard play and sunshine, we pack it up to head back home. a trip to bear lake wouldn't be complete though without a famous raspberry shake so we always pick these up to make the car ride home a little easier.

mmmm....raspberry shakes....it's such a fun tradition, i'm already looking forward to next year. maybe we'll even talk a few of the blogger moms into coming with us. hint.hint.